Sociologists
explain gender roles according to several theoretical perspectives,
general ways of understanding social reality that guide the research process
and provide a means for interpreting the data. In essence, a theory is
an explanation. Formal theories consist of logically interrelated propositions
that explain empirical events. For instance, data indicate that compared to
men, women are more likely to be segregated in lower-paying jobs offering fewer
opportunities for professional growth and advancement. Data also indicate that
both in the United States and cross-culturally the domestic work of women
performed in or near their homes is valued less than the work of men performed
outside their homes. Because the issue of gender crosses many disciplines,
explanations for these facts can be offered according to the theoretical perspectives
of those disciplines. Biology, psychology, and anthropology all offer
explanations for gender-related attitudes and behavior. Not only do these
explanations differ between disciplines, but scientists within the same
discipline also frequently offer competing explanations for the same data, and
sociology is no exception. The best explanations are those that account for the
volume and complexities of the data. As research on gender issues accelerates
and more sophisticated research tools are developed, it is becoming clearer
that the best explanations are also those that are both interdisciplinary and
incorporate concepts related to diversity. Sociological theory will dominate
this text’s discussion, but we will also account for relevant interdisciplinary
work and its attention to diversity issues. Sociological perspectives on gender
also vary according to the level of analysis at which they operate. Macrosociological
perspectives on gender roles direct attention to data collected on
large-scale social phenomena, such as labor force, educational, and political
trends that are differentiated according to gender roles. Microsociological perspectives
on gender roles direct attention to data collected in small groups and the
details of gender interaction occurring, for example, between couples and
families and peer groups. Microsociological perspectives overlap a great deal
with the discipline of social psychology. We will see that theoretical
perspectives may be differentiated according to macro- and microlevel of
analysis, and perspectives from each level may be more or less compatible. When
theoretical perspectives can be successfully combined, they offer excellent
ways to better understand gender issues from a sociological perspective. Early
sociological perspectives related to gender roles evolved from scholarship on
the sociology of the family. These explanations centered on why men and women
hold different roles in the family that in turn impact the roles they perform
outside the family. To a large extent, this early work on the family has
continued to inform current sociological thinking on gender roles. The next
sections will overview the major sociological perspectives and highlight their
explanations regarding the gender family connection.
Functionalism, also known as “structural functionalism,” is a
macrosociological perspective that is based on the premise that society is made
up of interdependent parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of the
whole society. Functionalists seek to identify the basic elements or parts of
society and determine the functions these parts play in meeting basic social
needs in predictable ways. Functionalists
ask how any given element of social structure contributes to overall social
stability, balance, and equilibrium. They assert that in the face of disruptive
social change, society can be restored to equilibrium as long as built-in
mechanisms of social control operate effectively and efficiently. Social
control and stability are enhanced when people share beliefs and values in
common. Functionalist emphasis on this value consensus is a major ingredient in
virtually all their interpretations related to social change. Values
surrounding gender roles, marriage, and the family are central to functionalist
assertions regarding social equilibrium.
Functionalists suggest that in preindustrial societies social
equilibrium was maintained by assigning different tasks to men and women. Given
the hunting and gathering and subsistence farming activities of most preindustrial
societies, role specialization according to gender was considered a functional
necessity. In their assigned hunting roles, men were frequently away from home
for long periods and centered their lives around the responsibility of bringing
food to the family. It was functional for women—more limited bypregnancy,
childbirth, and nursing—to be assigned domestic roles near the home as
gatherers and subsistence farmers and as caretakers of children and households.
Children were needed to help with agricultural and domestic activities. Girls
would continue these activities when boys reached the age when they were
allowed to hunt with the older males. Once established, this functional
division of labor was reproduced in societies throughout the globe. Women may
have been farmers and food gatherers in their own right, but they were
dependent on men for food and for protection. Women’s dependence on men in turn
produced a pattern in which male activities and roles came to be more valued
than female activities and roles.
-ONAH MARY JOHN
KUW/U14/SLG/2026
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